Network societies have been emerging quickly with the widespread use of Internet, especially with the increasing accessibility through various portable communication devices, including smart phones. Network societies typically have at least one network server that manages the relationships among the members of each society. An example of a network server is a social network server (SNS), with the network consisting of its members that manages the relationships among those members. Such a network is sometimes known as a “social network.”
Each person may be considered as a node in a social network, and each node may have associations with other node(s) in the social network. An association between two persons may be represented by a line linking two nodes. Several metrics can be derived from or used to quantify characteristics in a social network having multiple nodes and lines. For example, a “relation degree” can be a simple metric for characterizing how close two nodes are. Two nodes have a first-degree relation if there is a line directly linking the two nodes, which may reflect that the two nodes can contact with each other directly, such as by phones, e-mails, instant messages, peer-to-peer streaming, and etc. Two nodes have a second-degree relation if they have one node in between and are coupled through two lines. Two nodes having a relation degree order beyond the first degree relation may suggest that the two corresponding persons do not know each other, but do have a certain relationship, such as one common contact, between them.
Various social-network platforms may be set up to connect users and provide their associations. Those platforms may present themselves in the form of websites, through which associations between people can be made, contacts can be stored, and networks can be constructed. Privacy measures or rules may be applied, such as by basing on certain metric(s) (characteristics) to limit direct contacts between users who might not know each other. There may be tradeoffs between loose and strict rules. Loose rules may unnecessarily expose user privacy, while strict rules may limit the interactions among members of a social network. Some social network applications may also provide limited functions or capabilities, making the use of computers preferable or necessary, which may limit the growth of the social network.
Therefore, it may be desirable to provide methods, systems, or both for associating users with one or more characteristics, such as adequate privacy protection, convenience in access, compatibility with mobile or portable devices, etc.